Roasting! It might be the 99th day but we needed 99s to try and cool us down. I must be old as I can remember when 99s actually cost 99p!
I keep thinking that when it’s really hot, at least I’m not stuck in the office but I realised today that it’s actually worse working from home. At least in the office everyone around me is in the same boat, but here all I can hear are the kids (mine and others) having fun out in their gardens! I just want to go out and join them but know I can’t, and of course the forecast is for rain at the weekend when I can!
But not to be downbeat, tomorrow is meant to be another scorcher and it’s definitely better than heavy rain. The kids have been outside burning off their energy which hopefully means we won’t have a repeat of this morning’s 3am wake up call when Emma came in and started tickling the small of my back whilst asking for a drink.
Right, 5 big lessons today for the top 5:
1. Remote Court hearings don’t mix well with paddling pools. This is pretty self explanatory. I am always very keen to go on beach holidays but when we get there I’m always the first to comment about how hot it is! I know, I know, it kind of comes with the territory, but I quickly realise the only way I can cope is by placing myself near a swimming pool or the sea so I can jump in and cool down on a regular basis. This is not so easy at home during lockdown but thank goodness M’s new paddling pool came out. Combining that with a lengthy court hearing made for an interesting exchange with the judge asking what the splashing noise in the background was. 💦
2. Don’t run with wet feet. Another obvious one I would think for adults but it’s easy to forget that the kids still need to learn. E came charging into the house after being in the paddling pool and hit the slidy kitchen floor at speed, managing to wipe herself out and smash her head off the kitchen door. Ouch! I suppose life is all about learning and I suspect this is one lesson she won’t forget in a hurry. 🤕
3. Never underestimate the imagination of children. We had to prepare very carefully today for our lunchtime walk, particularly given the heat. We weren’t exactly going on a hike but I still packed water bottles and emergency snacks into the bottom of the pushchair as well as making sure we all had hats on. Given we all have the fair Low genes we also slapped on the suncream just in case. This was clearly on Emma’s mind as we walked past the horses a few minutes later. “Do you know about horse sun cream Daddy?”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Horse sun cream. The farmer puts it on to make sure the horses don’t burn. It’s very hot in those fields you know and they need to be protected.”
I’ll confess the conversation didn’t develop from there as I was distracted, trying to work out how the cream makes it past the hair onto the horse’s skin! 🐎
4. Never leave the house without tissues. I suspect this is a dad thing, and Mammys are always super organised. We were half way round our walk today and E’s nose started to run. Well, we’ve brought her up well so she immediately asked for a tissue. I didn’t have one. I told her this. She tutted and then she told me she really needed one as the snot was touching her lip. I told her that I wasn’t hiding one, or refusing to give her one to be horrible. I simply didn’t have one to give her. The whining continued and struck a nerve. I weighed up the length of time to get home. I made a split second decision then and there. Please don’t judge. I reached out and wiped the snot away with my hand. I immediately regretted it and she was horrified. “Don’t do that again Daddy. You’ll need to wash your hands now Daddy. That’s disgusting Daddy.” And so it went on. No gratitude whatsoever. And now I’m stuck trying to walk home, pushing the pushchair with only one hand and keeping my other hand out to the side. What has my life come to?!!? 🤧
5. Don’t judge before you hear the full story. I was on the phone to a client and Steph burst in to change her trousers and she’d had a little accident. Literally a massive wet patch around her crotch. It’s very difficult to hold your chain of thought when faced with that. One immediately tries to work out if it was a one off accident or the start of a rather unfortunate medical issue. In sickness and in health after all! Fortunately the call was coming to an end so I managed to speak to her before she rushed back out in her replacement outfit. I was somewhat relieved to find out that M had sat on her lap just before she discovered the wet patch and clearly he’d just come out of the paddling pool. The relief waned somewhat when I realised the paddling pool hadn’t been inflated by that point and so the mind boggles as to where the wet patch came from… 👖
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